1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to cellular wireless communication networks; and more particularly to resource matching for call setups.
2. Related Art
Cellular wireless networks include a “network infrastructure” that facilitates wireless communications with mobile terminals operating within a particular service coverage area. The network infrastructure couples to other network elements to support numerous types of communications, for example, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), the Internet, et cetera. The network infrastructure may route communications to other subscribing wireless units, to terminals coupled to the PSTN, to terminals coupled to the Internet, or to terminals coupled via another network to one of these networks.
Various wireless interface specifications have been developed to standardize wireless communications between the mobile terminals and the network infrastructure and between components that comprise the network infrastructure. Wireless interface specifications include, for example, the Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) specifications, the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) specifications, the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) specifications, and the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) specifications. Generations of these specifications are generally referred to as first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), et cetera. Each advancing generation of standards typically performs and/or supports a greater number of services, a greater number of features, and provides better communication qualities. These operating specifications may also be partially deployed from generation to generation, for example, 2G to 2.5G.
Network infrastructure upgrades are expensive and difficult to deploy, and to mitigate these adverse economic effects, have been implemented on a generational basis. That is, instead of network replacement, network infrastructures have been upgraded over time to include enhanced functions or features, and while still operating on or in combination with underlying transport infrastructures. Accordingly, network upgrades have introduced heterogeneous infrastructures that include trunk bearer path resources and packet bearer path resources instead of homogenous infrastructures having either one or the other. Each resource carries voice data, but the network infrastructure blindly assigns resources without regard to resource matching. When mismatches result, resource efficiency suffers, along with transmission quality and bandwidth.
Thus, a need exists for methods and apparatus for that may be employed to increase bearer connection efficiency through like-kind matching of bearer connections for both legacy mobile terminals and next generation mobile terminals operating within a next generation wireless communication systems.